From: Anonymous <anon@anon.efga.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 09:36:09 +0800
To: cypherpunks@Algebra.COM
Subject: Re: Socio-Economic Cults (Re: Cypherpunk Cults)
Message-ID: <4624afc117cc70ecd2729a840f5d3e21@anon.efga.org>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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Sean Roach <roach_s@alph.swosu.edu> wrote:
>>Afterwards, a compensation arrangement is made between your
>>protection company and the protection company of your victim.

>Also, according to what I remember, the "protection company" was your
>extended family.  Pay up or face the wraith of all the deceased's
>cousins, nephews, uncles, neices, aunts, maybe his kids.

This seems to have been a common case, but it was not the rule.

There were a limited number of franchises available for protection
companies.  Protection franchises were bought and sold like any other
business.  Like businesses, some did well and grew in size and value
under the care of their stewards and others did not.

The ability to change protection companies at will is important - it's
what distinguishes this system from feudal "protection" systems where
the "clients" are actually serfs.

The Icelandic idea of the extended family did not map precisely to
ours.  Divorces were easily and commonly arranged.  There was a lot of
turnover and a lot of half-siblings around.  There were some
interesting adoption customs, too.  People sometimes adopted children
they liked, even if the parents were still living.  This did not mean
that the children didn't continue to live with the natural parents.
But the adopting parent would help out here and there.  (In "Njal's
Saga", for example, an adopting parent beats up people for his adopted
daughter and this causes no end of trouble.)

Just Another Cypherpunk

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